History - Statistics and more statistics

Statistical overview of immigrants who passed through the port of québec (1815-1941)

Year

Number of immigrants

Nationality

(1815-1828)

150 000 immigrants

British

(1829-1851)

696 000 immigrants

58.5% Irish
1.8% European

(1852-1867)

398 000 immigrants

28.3% Irish
36% European

(1868-1891)

662 000 immigrants

11.1% Irish
32% non British

(1892-1914)

1 717 000 immigrants

1.0% Irish
47% non British

(1915-1941)

758 000 immigrants

Total: 4.3 million immigrants, of which 75% arrived AFTER 1867.

N.B.: Anglophone immigrants represent 60% of all the arrivals before 1914; for the Pre-Confederation period (1867), they count for 85% of the total number of arrivals.

The total Irish immigration, which was 661 000 individuals for the period 1829-1914, represents 14% of the total number of arrivals at the Port of Québec.

Immigration and quarantine statistics the grosse île quarantine station 1832-1937Document prepared by André Charbonneau and André Sévigny, Historians, May 1996

From 1832-1937, Grosse Île was a quarantine station for the Port of Québec which, up until World War II, was the main arrival site for immigrants coming into Canada. During this time, more than four million people passed through the Port of Québec. 1

Immigrants' Nationality

1829-1851

The data for this period does not separate the English, Irish and Scottish arriving in Québec. Only the ports where they boarded is known. Between 1829 and 1851, 696 129 immigrants arrived in Québec. Of these:

191 820 (27.5%) were from English ports

407 818 (58.5%) were from Irish ports

75 102 (10.8%) were from Scottish ports

21 389 ( 3.2%) were from elsewhere in the world

It can safely be asserted that at least 60% of immigrants coming from the British Isles between 1829 and 1851 were Irish.

1852-1914

It is not until 1852 that precise information on the nationality of immigrants can be found. Between 1852 and 1867, the Port of Québec received 398 031 immigrants. Of these:

19.2% were English

28.3% were Irish

13.7% were Scottish

14.2% were German

21.2% were Scandinavian

3.4% were from other countries

Between 1868 and 1891, Québec let in 662 037 immigrants. Of these:

47.2% were English

24.1% were Scandinavian

11.1% were Irish

9.7% were Scottish

2.9% were German

5.0% were from other countries

For 1892-1914, the available statistics do not differentiate between the ethnic origins of the immigrants from the British Isles. These people (905 823 out of 1 514 452 immigrants) made up 59.8% of immigrants arriving at the Port of Québec. Of the other:

14.6% came from Eastern Europe

10.8% came from Scandinavia

8.3% came from Western Europe

2.8% came from the Middle East

3.7% came from elsewhere in the world

1915-1941

During this time, 758 666 immigrants arrived at the Port of Québec. Our ongoing research has not yet revealed the precise nationalities of this group.

Hospitalizations, Deaths and Burials at Grosse Île

Even if we know the total number of immigrants that went through the Port of Québec from 1832-1941, there are still no statistics on those who stayed at Grosse Île from 1832-1937. The available numbers show only the hospitalizations, deaths and burials recorded on the island of quarantine. 2

Between 1832 and 1913, 31 829 individuals were hospitalized at Grosse Île. At present the numbers are incomplete for the remaining period, 1914-1937.

As for the number of deaths and burials at Grosse Île, official sources as well as different registers list a total of 7 480 burials between 1832 and 1937. Of this number, more than 5 000 deaths are registered in the hospitals; the others are, for the most part, immigrants who died on boats under quarantine. To this number must be added some sailors and quarantine station employees who died while carrying out their functions. Therefore, a distinction must be made between the number of "burials" and "deaths" at Grosse Île.

1847 was by and large the most tragic year, especially for the Irish who made up the majority of immigrants at the time.

Year

Port of Québec immigration

Grosse Île patients

Grosse Île burials

1832

51 746

39

28

1833

21752

239

27

1834

30 935

844

264

1835

12 527

126

10

1836

21 722

454

61

1837

21 901

598

57

1838

3 266

65

6

1839

7 439

189

9

1840

22 234

561

45

1841

28 086

290

43

1842

44 374

488

69

1843

21 727

246

23

1844

20 142

388

22

1845

25 375

465

37

1846

32 753

892

69

Year

Port of Québec immigration

Grosse Île patients

Grosse Île burials

1847

90 150

8 691

[ 5 424 ] 5

1848

27 939

581

134

1849

39 494

859

182

1850

32 292

359

28

1851

41 079

594

70

1852

39 176

287

29

1853

36 699

278

41

1854

53 183

690

95

1855

21 274

432

37

1856

22 439

263

25

1857

32 097

417

35

1858

12 810

227

29

1859

8 778

92

0

1860

10 150

92

11

1861

19 923

341

25

1862

22 176

367

67

1863

19 419

44

1

1864

19 147

60

9

1865

21 355

33

3

1866

28 648

271

23

1867

30 757

375

24

1868

34 300

424

28

1869

43 114

494

45

1870

44 475

392

6

1871

37 020

267

8

1872

34 743

309

22

Year

Port of Québec immigration

Grosse Île patients 3

Grosse Île burials 4

1873

39 901

114

4

1874

23 894

62

4

1875

16 038

70

2

1876

10 901

1

0

1877

7 743

0

0

1878

10 295

7

0

1879

17 251

7

0

1880

24 997

0

0

1881

30 228

0

0

1882

44 850

0

0

1883

45 966

1

0

1884

31 529

2

0

1885

17 030

6

1

1886

22 782

13

3

1887

32 749

70

4

1888

28 530

54

2

1889

22 091

33

0

1890

21 165

51

1

1891

23 435

59

1

1892

27 422

150

9

1893

46 888

238

25

1894

20 989

106

4

1895

19 774

40

2

1896

19 167

30

2

1897

20 495

73

7

1898

20 842

25

2

1899

29 422

73

8

Year

Port of Québec immigration

Grosse Île patients 3

Grosse Île burials 4

1900

15 821

41

3

1901

37 832

167

4

1902

39 192

232

11

1903

58 124

324

7

1904

62 446

243

3

1905

77 443

340

4

1906

97 495

610

11

1907

62 517

634

12

1908

146 142

245

0

1909

71 218

505

13

1910

97 653

727

14

1911

162 240

838

9

1912

172 734

947

14

1913

185 758

1 568

18

1914

225 876

0

9

1915

49 431

0

2

1916

6 168

0

4

1917

6 408

0

1

1918

77

0

42

1919

287

0

0

1920

37 125

0

6

1921

65 969

0

1

1922

40 730

0

9

1923

31 717

0

0

1924

71 290

0

1

1925

59 572

0

0

1926

40 963

0

0

1927

63 792

0

0

Year

Port of Québec immigration

Grosse Île patients 3

Grosse Île burials 4

1928

64 392

0

0

1929

74 653

0

1

1930

70 688

0

0

1931

34 114

0

0

1932

6 932

0

1

1933

3 548

0

0

1934

3 063

0

1

1935

2 889

0

0

1936

2 901

0

0

1937

3 478

0

0

1938

4 930

0

0

1939

6 072

0

0

1940

5 827

0

0

1941

950

0

0

Total

4 132 154

31 829

[74 080]

1 This number, as well as those in the second column of the table below, come from the annual reports of the immigration official in Quebec. For more on this topic consult: Immigration to Canada through the Port of Québec, from the early 19th Century to World War II by André Sévigny

3 In cases where the numbers varied in the sources, the highest number was used

4 See note 3

5 This number warrants explanation. All of the registers consulted as well as the registry offices concerning the burials at both chapels on Grosse Île, show between 3 238 and 3 253 deaths or burials in 1847 at Grosse Île. The monument commemorating the efforts of the doctors reads as follows: "In this secluded spot lie the mortal remains of 5424 persons who fleeing from Pestilence and Famine in Ireland in the year 1847 found in the America but a Grave". We also find a note in the summary of one of the hospital registers at Grosse Île the following written, more than likely, in 1897: "In 1847 the deaths in the Hospital were 3 226, the interments 5 424. The difference is made up of those who died on vessels in Quarantine, or upon landing, but before they could be entered in the hospital books."

It is paradoxical that the annual report for 1847 by the Superintendent of Grosse Île, Dr. Douglas, does not mention anything regarding these figures. The figure of 3 238 deaths at the Quarantine Hospital has since been confirmed. (See: Irish University Press, Papers Relative to Emigration to the British Provinces in North America, London, Wm. Clowes and Sons, 1848, document 2).